Method of and means for marking lump materials



y 3 1940- J. A. CORMACK 2,209,765

METHOD OF AND MEANS EUR MARKING LUMP MATERIALS Filed Dec. 4, 1937 Z 1 w John A. Cormack L J 7 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Patented July so, 1940 METHOD OF AND MEANS FOR MARKING LUMP MATERIALS John A. Cormack, Milwaukee, Wis., assignor to Dustlix Corporation, Milwaukee,

Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin v Application December 4, 1937, Serial No. new j 14 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved method and means for marking coal, crushed stone or like lump materials for the purpose of identifying A simple and effective method of marking such materials is disclosed in my prior application, Serial No. 132,341, filed March 22, 1937. In the method shown in that application, a distinctive strip of paper or the like is adhesively applied 11); to a mass of coal or the like, the strip adhering to some of the lumps and being torn into fragments by subsequent movement of the lumps within the mass. When the lumps bearing the distinctive fragments become mixed throughout the mass, the distinctive medium serves to identify the entire mass, as well as subsequently segregated portions of the mass.

One object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of applying and distributing fragments of a-distinctive medium to and throughout a mass of-lump material in a manner to identify the mass and subsequently segregated portions of the mass.

Another object is to provide a machine for effectively and efliciently carrying out my novel method.

Another objectis to provide an improved machine for feeding and separating sheet material into fragments.

Other objects and advantages will appear, ex-. pressed or implied, from the following description of a. novel method which I have employed in practicing the present invention. 1

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line l|. of Fig. 2, of a simple machinefor carrying out the method of the present invention, with a schematic showing of the identifying medium being applied to lumps of coal, in accordance with the method of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan view, on a larger scale, of the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 3--3 of Fig. 1 illustrating the strip feed mechanism.

Fig. 4 is a view in end elevation showing the strip tearing mechanism.

Asin the application mentioned above, identification of the mass of coal or like lump material is effected in this instance by the use of a distinctive medium, preferably of paper or like material in strip form, fragments of which are adhesively afiixed to lumps of the material and mixed throughout the mass. In the accompanying drawing, such a distinctive strip is shown' at A entering the machine from an appropriate source. The stripA-is rendered distinctive by printing, coloring or otherwise marking the same. The strip is preferably perforated, scored, or otherwise treated to renderit easily separable by tearing into fragments or individual labels B. The strip shown is perforated, at intervals C, each line of perforations,terminatingin slits D which facilitate tearing of the stripalong. the lines of perforations. v

As the strip A is fed into the machine over an appropriate guide or. chute 9, an adhesive is applied thereto in any conventionalmanner, depending upon the, characteristics of the adhesive used. In this instance an appropriate adhesive applying tube or nozzle is. shown at l0, supplied from an appropriate source, and arranged to apply a ribbon-like coating of adhesive E along the center of the strip, and. leaving margins F of the strip uncoated so as to avoidinterference with the .feed' and tearing rollers,later to be described.

The strip A is preferably continuously ad-, vancedalong the guide 9 and, beneath the adhesive applying tube I0 by v sets of upper and lower feed rollers II and I2 which gripbetween them the ungummed margins of the strip. The upper rollers l I, preferably spaced apart to avoid the intermediatev adhesive coating, .are fixed to a shaft l3, drivenbyappropriate means, such .as a pulley and belt I4.,,,The,lower coacting rollers l2, respectively opposed to the rollers H, are fixedjto a lower shaft I5.

The machine shown also includes a strip tearing and fragment ejecting mechanism preferably comprising a single pair of opposed upper and lower rollers l6 and I1 disposed to receive the strip from the feed rollers II and I2 and to grip one ungummed margin of the strip. Rollers l6 and l! are respectively fixed to and driven by upper and lowershafts l8 and I9 at a peripheral speed higher than thatof the feed rollers I l and I2, so as to tension that section of the strip disposed between them and. the feed rollers and thereby effectintermittenttearing of the strip along the lines of perforations C. It will be noted that by arranging .therollers l6 and I! to grip only one margin of the strip the resulting tension is concentrated along anv edge of the strip where it is most effectiveto produce tearing. It will also; be noted that the guide 9 extends .between the feed and tearing rollers in a manner to support the torn end of the strip and to assure entry thereof between the tearing rollers.

The tearing rollers 16 and Il may be driven in various ways, but in this instance they are shown driven from the feed rollers I I and I2 in a simple and effective manner. For this purpose a gear 20, fixed to the upper feed roll shaft l3 adjacent one end thereof, meshes with a smaller gear 2| on the lower tearing roll shaft l 9, and a similar gear 22 fixed to the other end of the lower feed roll shaft 15 meshes with a smaller gear 23 fixed to the upper tearing roll shaft M. In this way the lower tearing roll I! is driven in the same direction as the lower feed rollers l2 but at higher speed, and the upper tearing roll I5 is driven in the same direction as the upper feed rollers l I but at a higher speed.

The machine shown is designed for mounting adjacent a moving mass of coal or other lump material preferably passing therebeneath, as down the breaker chute of a mine, or a loading chute, or the like. In Fig. 1 of the drawing, this is schematically suggested, lumps of coal G being shown moving down a chute and onto a conveyor H which carries them past the machine, As the adhesive labelsB are ejected by the tearing rollers I6 and I1, they are cast upon the mass of coal moving therebeneath, and become adhesively attached to some of the lumps of the mass. During further movement and subsequent handling of the lump material, the lumps bearing the labels will become mixed throughout the mass, and thereby serve to identify the mass as well as subsequently segregated portions thereof. 7

It is not contemplated that every fragment 1 of the identifying strip will remain attached to a lump of coal, nor that the fragments will adhere securely to the lumps throughout their entire length; it is suflicient, however, that some of the fragments of the paper adhere to the coal lumps to the extent that the identifying fragments will be carried by the lumps throughout subsequent handling. Nor is it contemplated that every lump of coal will carry a fragment of the strip; if in any given amount of coal there are a certain proportion of lumps carrying the identifying fragments, it will be sufficient to identify the mass.

Various changes may be made in the embodiment of the present invention hereinabove specifically described without departing from or sacrificing the advantages of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of marking a mass of lump material which consists in separating a distinctive medium into adhesive bearing fragments, delivering said fragments to the mass and into adhesive contact with lumps in the mass, and distributing said fragments throughout the mass by relative displacement of fragment-bearing lumps within the mass.

2. The method of marking a mass of lump material which consists in preparing adhesivebearing fragments of a distinctive medium, and casting said fragments into adhesive contact with lumps contained in the mass, and distributing said fragments throughout the mass by relative displacement of fragment-bearing lumps within the mass.

3. The method of marking a mass of lump material which consists in separating an adhesive-bearing distinctive strip into successive adhesive-bearing fragments, and casting said fragments successively into adhesive contact with lumps contained in the mass.

4. The method of marking a mass of lump material which consists in preparing adhesivebearing fragments of a distinctive strip, and casting said fragments onto lumps contained in the mass into adhesive attachment therewith.

5. The method of marking a mass of lump material which consists in separating an adhesivebearing distinctive strip into successive fragments, and adhesively attaching said fragments to lumps contained in the mass by casting said fragments onto the mass.

6. The method of marking a mass of lump material which consists in rendering a distinctive strip adhesive, separating said strip into successive fragments, and casting said fragments into adhesive contact with lumps contained in the mass.

7. The method of marking a mass of lump material which consists in rendering a distinctive strip adhesive, advancing said strip to a point adjacent the mass, and separating and casting portions of said strip onto the mass thereby to effect adherence between said portions and lumps contained in the mass,

8. An apparatus for marking a mass of lump material comprising means for rendering a distinctive strip adhesive, and means for separating and casting portions of said strip into adhesive contact with lumps contained in the mass.

9. An apparatus of the character described comprising means for rendering a distinctive strip adhesive, means for receiving and feeding said adhesive strip, and means coacting with said feeding means to intermittently tension and tear the adhesive strip, said last named means being disposed to receive the strip and to eject portions torn therefrom.

10. An apparatus of the character described comprising means for rendering a distinctive strip adhesive along a central portion thereof, a set of rollers for feeding the strip, and a set of rollers driven at a higher peripheral speed than said feed rollers and coacting therewith to intermittently tension and tear the strip, all of said rollers contacting said strip at portions unaffected by said adhesive.

11. An apparatus of the character described comprising a set of rollers for feeding a strip, said set of rollers comprising upper and lower feed rollers gripping said strip at both edges thereof, and a set of rollers comprising upper and lower rollers gripping said strip along one edge only thereof, said last named rollers coacting with said first named rollers to tension one edge of the strip and thereby intermittently tear the latter.

12. An apparatus of the character described comprising a pair of rollers coacting to feed a strip, a second pair of coacting rollers disposed to receive and grip the strip, a gear rotatable with each of said first named rollers, and a gear rotatable with each of said last named rollers and engaged with one of said first named gears for effecting rotation of said last named rollers at a peripheral speed higher than said first named rollers to thereby tension and intermittently tear the strip.

13. In a device of the character described, the combination of upper and lower feed rollers gripping a strip and rotatable to feed the same, a large gear rotatable with each of said rollers, upper and lower tearing rollers receiving said strip from said feed rollers and gripping the same, a small gear rotatable with each of said tearing rollers, the upper of said small gears being engaged with the lower of said large gears, and the lower of said small gears being engaged with the upper of said large gears to thereby induce rotation of said tearing rollers in the same direction as said feed rollers and at a higher peripheral speed. to thereby tension and intermittently tear said strip.

14. In an apparatus of the character described, the combination of upper and lower feed rollers 10 gripping a strip along one edge thereof, upper and lower feed rollers aligned with and rotatable with said first named rollers and gripping said strip along the opposite edge thereof, and upper and lower tearing rollers receiving said strip from said first named rollers and gripping said stripalong one edge only thereof, said last named rollers having a peripheral speed higher than said first named rollers to thereby tension and intermittently tear said strip. I

JOHN A. CORMACK. 

